Philosophy: Education Not Suppression

Education– including new, creative and interdisciplinary classes on hatred, antisemitism, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – should be the primary way a university approaches issues of alleged bigotry.

We oppose the trend toward speech codes, “trigger warnings,” “micro-aggressions,” and official university definitions of discriminatory speech. They are irreconcilable with the mission of the university, and harmful to the goal of increasing understanding of hatred and how it impacts the human condition.

Threats and intimidation have no place on campus. But a university should be a place where any idea – even ones perceived as hateful – can be expressed. Hateful ideas must be countered by speech, not suppression.

Our work against the Boycott/Divestment/Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel is largely focused on opposing academic boycotts, which violate academic freedom. See our page on BDS as well as our short guide.